Sunday, March 29, 2009

Jerry Vale

Jerry Vale was the consummate easy listening artist, not exactly a crooner – his voice was too big for that – but all his songs are slow and arranged with big big orchestration. His voice is a tenor of near operatic quality.

Vale put 9 songs on the top 100 between 1956 and 1966. I got one from somewhere or other, and 4 more are on this album, Jerry Vale’s Greatest Hits, which was released in 1961. Where did I get it? Probably from Pyramid Records.

Jerry Vale:

• Pretend You Don’t See Her– Insecurity, pride, hurt, pain, it’s all here. Smile, sings Jerry, and pretend to be gay. Not what he means. A hit from late in 1957.• Go Chase A Moonbeam – I listened to the butterfly, sings Jerry. Ok. From the fall of 1958.• Innamorata (Sweetheart) – Major love song. Vale sings in an almost operatic tenor. This was a hit in the winter of 1956. Dean Martin also put it on the charts.• Go – One of those the-temptation-is-getting-too-strong songs. True love waits for tomorrow…• Prima Donna – Not to be confused with Donna The Prima Donna by Dion.• And There Is My Beloved – How many guys introduce their girlfriends / wives like that??• Two Purple Shadows – He didn’t realise how he felt until he saw her with someone else. And all he saw was the shadows (think Silhouettes by The Rays or Delilah by Tom Jones). Jerry has been stood up, finds that his girl is with someone else, and walks away with a heart that is utterly and completely shattered…• You Don’t Know Me– From the fall of ’56. Classic ballad. The ultimate expression of the barrier between the me you know, and the me I wish you knew. Elvis covered this, and so did Ray Charles.• If – Not the Bread song…• Enchanted – Not The Platters song. At last you surrender to me, sings Jerry, and together we share ecstasy.. Really. That’s pretty graphic if you ask me…• And No One Knows• Have You Looked Into Your Heart – Trying to revive a lapsed romance. This was a hit in the winter of 1965, and the style has not changed much from his 50s hits.